Frozen Gladiators
by SnowQueenElsaFan
Summary: Elsa is a ruthless gladiator, having killed many opponents without a second thought, earning her the nickname "Ice Queen", but everything is about to change when she's forced to fight against a scared young woman named Anna whose brand new to being a gladiator. Elsanna gladiator AU. Rated M for violence/gore, murders, etc.
1. Kill or Be Killed

A broad-shoulder man with empty eyes was shoving a red-headed young woman, no more than 18 years of age, just barely an adult, forward violently with a cattle prod. The young woman flinched in pain as she was led towards her cell and finally shoved in. The man walked away silently, coldly, as the red-head silently sobbed to herself, filled with fear and uncertainty. "Don't worry. It's hard for everyone at first, but eventually your will to survive will kick in," she heard a female voice say. She looked into the cell next to hers and saw a blonde haired woman with her hair in a French braid.

"I'm Princess Anna. Well, just Anna now I guess since I was captured from my homeland and made the Romans' slave. Who are you?", the pig-tailed red-head answered the blonde.

"I'm formerly Queen Elsa, now just Elsa, although everyone here calls me the Ice Queen," the blonde responded.

"Why do they call you the Ice Queen?"

"Because I've killed so many people I can't even count and no longer show any emotion when I kill. I'm ruthless," Elsa answered matter-of-factly, with no emotion in her voice.

"You've killed people?", Anna choked out, her voice filled with confusion and shock.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not heartless, Anna. I don't kill people because I want to or I enjoy it. I kill them because I have to and I have no choice. As a gladiator, it's kill or be killed. This world is cruel and you have to learn how to fight and survive in it," the Ice Queen tried justifying herself.

"I'm scared, Elsa," the red-head confessed to the slightly older woman.

"This will be your first fight as a gladiator, won't it? You've never kill anyone before, have you?", the blonde questioned her.

"No. They just captured me yesterday and brought me back here today. I've never had to fight before in my life. I can't kill another human being, but I don't want to die either. I don't know what I'm going to do. These gladiator fights are fights to the death, aren't they?"

"Yes. They are," Elsa answered sadly.

"I just wish I could go back home to my family and everything would be alright again," Anna sobbed loudly, breaking the Ice Queen's heart.

"I wish I could tell you it's going to be ok, Anna, but I'm not going to lie to you," the Ice Queen sighed.

Suddenly, their captor was back. Anna flinched in the back of her cell, trying to make herself as small as possible, hoping, willing, that if she tried hard enough she would either turn invisible or dissolve into nothingness. The man wasn't interested in her though and at first she felt relieved until she saw him head to Elsa's cell.

The man roughly pulled Elsa out of the cell and led her out of the dungeons. The roar of the crowd was deafening as Elsa was lead into the arena. A sword was placed in her hand and she held her breathe, waiting for her opponent, her next victim, to show their face. A reddish-brown haired young man with side-burns appeared on the other end of the ring and a sword was placed in his hand as well. The emperor watched from the balcony high above the coliseum as the announcer on the side-lines began.

"Citizens, we now present to you, Dark Prince vs Ice Queen.

"It's Prince Hans," the side-burned guy scoffed concededly at the announcer's nickname for him.

"The Dark Prince and the Ice Queen are the current reigning champions, the Dark Prince having defeated 50 opponents, the Ice Queen having defeated 45. It's going to a close match folks," the announcer continued.

"Let the fight began!", he then shouted loudly.

With that, the Ice Queen lunged for the Dark Prince with her sword, but he dodged quickly out of the way and struck her arm with his sword, luckily only grazing it. She spun around quickly and stabbed him in the shoulder. Hans clenched his teeth in pain as he pulled the sword out of his impaled shoulder and continued to fight, swinging the sword towards Elsa's neck with his good arm, attempting to be-head her. Elsa caught the sword before it struck her and pulled it violently out of his hands. She brought it down on his wrist, slicing his hand clean off. He shouted in pain, but then quickly regained his composure, picking up the other sword with his remaining hand and trying to swing it at the Ice Queen despite being weak from blood loss. After several futile attempts, he collapsed on the ground and Elsa was upon him, pinning him down, her sword raised above his chest, ready to strike.

"Please don't kill me," the man pleaded, the sword still held in his good hand.

"I have to. One of us has to die and not's going to be me. That's just the way this world works," the Ice Queen answered coldly as she plunged the sword into the Dark Prince's chest.

Blood spurted out from his mouth as he coughed, his eyes rolled back in his head and became empty, and his body convulsed. When he was finally still, Elsa removed her bloody sword from her impaled opponent's chest. The crowd cheered even louder than before.

"The victor is the Ice Queen!", the announcer shouted.

Elsa took a bow before the sword was taken away from her and she was lead back into her cell next to Anna. The red-head glanced over at her. "You won?", she questioned the blonde, her voice showing her mixed emotions, glad that Elsa was ok but dreading the fact that it meant that Elsa had killed another person.

"Yes," the blonde answered emotionlessly.

"Did….did….you kill someone again?", Anna asked in feigned ignorance even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes. He begged me not to kill him, but I know his type. The moment I showed him mercy, he would of turned and stabbed me, killing me instead of him. I did what I had to in order to survive," Elsa said coldly, making Anna flinch.

There was silence between the two women for the rest of the night.


	2. Live and Let Live

Anna screamed in panic as she awoke to someone grabbing her. It was their captor taking her out of her cell. "It'll be ok, Anna. Remember what I taught you about the will to survive. All that matters is protecting yourself. Show your opponent no mercy," the Ice Queen tried to reassure her as Anna was led out into the arena. The red-head shook violently, her knees nearly giving out, as the crowd cheered in the distance. She held her breathe, waiting to face her opponent, waiting for imminent death. Her eyes filled with shock as her opponent entered the ring.

"Elsa?", she gasped.

"Anna?" Elsa gasped.

Their shock didn't last long as a sword was placed in each of their hands.

"And now, presenting the Ice Queen vs the Fire Princess. The cold-hearted Ice Queen has killed 46 opponents. Does the fiery red-headed newcomer even stand a chance with no opponents under her belt? Let the fight begin!"

"Elsa, please, I'm scared. I don't want to hurt you," Anna pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I don't want to either, but we have to fight. That's the way this works," Elsa apologized sadly as she lunged at Anna with her sword.

Anna drew her sword up and blocked Elsa's attack, shoving the blonde back onto the ground. Anna stood there trembling, unable to move, allowing Elsa enough time to stand back up on her feet. She lunged at Anna again, this time successfully landing a blow on Anna's wrist. It was a light blow, not enough to hack off her hand, just enough to graze her and cause a shallow bleeding wound. Elsa could've struck harder easily, but she, unlike with Hans, was reluctant to hurt Anna. Anna gasped in pain as she held her wrist.

"Elsa, please, we don't have to do this," she begged.

"I'm sorry, but we have to, Anna," Elsa answered, some sadness cracking through in her voice despite the cold tone she was using.

The Ice Queen lunged for her opponent, the Fire Princess swinging her sword in self-defense and lightly grazing the blonde's cheek, just enough to make a small trickle of blood.

"Oh God, Elsa, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you," Anna cried in panic, tears of fear and regret welling up in her eyes.

The sight was heart-breaking to Elsa, but she held back her own tears. She couldn't go too soft on Anna. The girl would get herself killed if she didn't learn how to fight. Elsa needed to make her learn before an opponent that really wanted to hurt her finished her off, even if it meant that Elsa had to let herself be finished off by Anna.

"Don't cry, Anna. You did what you had to. Strike me again before I strike you. Don't let your guard down," Elsa warned as lunged at Anna again, this time heading for the red-head's shoulder with her sword. Anna dodged out of the way quickly and then pummeled into Elsa with her body, knocking the blonde on the ground. She stood over her with the sword, bringing it down towards the blonde's head.

"Good job, Anna. Do it," Elsa smiled sadly, tears welling in her eyes.

"I…I can't. I can't hurt you, Elsa," Anna began sobbing as she threw her sword away instead of striking.

"Anna," Elsa sighed sadly as she pushed the red head to the ground, bringing her sword towards the younger girl's chest.

"I really wish you would've finished me, so I wouldn't have to kill you," Elsa sighed regretfully.

"Elsa, please, please don't kill me. I don't want to die. I'm scared," Anna pleaded.

Elsa stopped the sword mid-way in the air as Anna continued.

"I couldn't hurt you because you're my friend, Elsa. You're the only thing that's kept me going in this cruel hell, that's given me the strength to carry on, the only person whose been nice and kind to me. I thought you felt the same about me?"

"Gladiators don't have the luxury of friends, Anna," Elsa warned as she brought the sword down closer to Anna's chest.

"Please! No!", Anna screamed out in desperation, covering her chest with her hands, closing her eyes, and waiting for death, betrayal.

It never came. She heard the clanking thud of metal falling to the ground, the disgruntled booing of the crowd, and then felt herself being wrapped up in a warm embrace. She opened her eyes to find Elsa holding her gently in her arms, looking down at her sadly, crying. Elsa's tears fell on Anna's cheeks, joining her own.

"I'm so sorry, Anna. I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you either. I know it sounds crazy cause we just met but I love you and I don't' want to hurt you," Elsa confessed.

Anna looked up at the sobbing blonde holding her gently in her arms in disbelief and relief.

"I love you too, Elsa, but I'm still scared," Anna admitted nervously.

"Shhh. You're okay, Anna. I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe with me," Elsa whispered soothingly as she began rocking the red-head gently in her arms.

Anna broke out into wordless sobbing, letting out stress, relief, fear, all at once.

"You're gonna be okay, Anna. Everything's gonna be ok. Shhh. Don't cry anymore. Okay? I'll protect you. I've got you. You're safe," Elsa continued soothing the frightened girl.

Anna began to relax in Elsa's arms, calming down as she let her head rest in the older girl's lap. The peace was short lived, however, as their captor roughly ripped Anna out from Elsa's arms.

"Anna!", Elsa screamed in panic.

"Elsa, help me!", Anna screamed back as she was lead back into the dungeons.

Several minutes later, the captor returned to lead Elsa into the dungeons. The captor left.

"Is he gone? What's going to happen to us now?", Anna asked Elsa frantically.

"No. He'll be back. He went to get something to punish us with." 

"Punish?", Anna choked out.

"Yes, I've seen it before. Any gladiators that refuse to fight are beaten and tortured as punishment," Elsa warned sadly.

"Beaten and tortured?", Anna gasped in a mix of shock and fright.

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll do whatever I can to make sure you don't get hurt too bad even if it means I have to take the brunt of the abuse," Elsa promised.

"Elsa, you'd do that for me? But, wait I can't let you get hurt because of me," Anna protested.

"I'd do anything for you, Anna," Elsa promised softly.

Their captor returned with a whip in one hand and an iron hot cattle brand in the other as he prepared to open Anna's cell.


	3. To Protect You

Anna cringed in the corner of her cell as the man entered, holding the whip out, posed for a strike. She was shivering and sobbing with fright. "Please, no, please don't hurt me! I'm sorry!", she pleaded.

"Begging won't do you any good, Anna. None of our captors have an ounce of mercy," Elsa sighed sadly.

"I'm scared, Elsa. Help me!", Anna sobbed.

"Shhh. Concentrate on my voice, Anna. Everything's going to be ok. We'll get through this together," her cell neighbor tried to reassure her.

The guard removed Anna's shirt, making her blush from embarrassment, but it didn't last long because he brought the whip down fiercely on her bare back, causing her to scream out in pain. The sound was heart-breaking to the Ice Queen.

"It's ok, Anna. Everything's going to be ok. It'll be over soon," Elsa tried to soothe her as Anna clenched her teeth through the pain as more and more lashes were added on her back.

Suddenly, she let out a particularly loud and pained screamed as the cattle brand was placed on her back, singeing it. Elsa had had enough. She didn't know if it would work or not, but she was willing to try anything for Anna.

"Please stop. I'll take both her punishment and mine. This entire thing is my fault. I'm the one who didn't finish her off in the battle, so it's me that deserves to be punished, not her," Elsa pleaded with the guard.

Although the guard didn't say a word in response, to her relief, he left Anna's cell and headed into Elsa's own, whip and cattle brand in hand. He removed Elsa's shirt and began whipping her back, much harder than he had whipped Anna's, as if he was purposely trying to compensate for not getting to whip two people, acting like he was hitting two people at once. Elsa cried out in pain at the burns from the severe lashes.

"Elsa, no! Why? Why would you take my punishment?", Anna wailed, distraught.

"To….protect….you," Elsa managed to gasp out between her beatings.

"I'm so sorry, Elsa," Anna sobbed as she closed her eyes and covered her ears, unable to take hearing anymore of Elsa's heartbreaking screams or watch her be tortured.

The guard continued his punishment, burning Elsa with the cattle brand over every whip mark more than once until her back was filled with raw, burning, bleeding wounds. Although she tried not to, the pain was too great, and she cried out in agony the whole time until she fainted. Satisfied, the guard left the two women. Anna cautiously removed her hands for her ears first and when all was silent, she opened her eyes.

"Elsa! Oh, my God! Elsa! Please be alive!," she gasped, looking at her unconscious cell neighbor and the gruesome damage on her back. Anna didn't know how long she was crying for until a soft and weak-sounding voice interrupted her.

"Hey, don't cry, Anna. I'm ok. See? You're ok too. Everything's ok," Elsa breathed out of strained vocal cords.

"Elsa, your back!"

"….will heal," Elsa finished for Anna.

"But it's all my fault!", the red-head wailed.

"That's not true. This is as much my fault as it is yours. I'm the one who refused to kill you," Elsa argued sternly.

"Why did you do it, Elsa?", Anna asked in confusion.

"Do what?", Elsa answered tiredly.

"Spare my life when I begged you and then took my beating for me because of it," Anna explained.

"I don't know. Maybe it was because I love you. Or maybe it was just because you remind me of myself when I was first brought into this hell, so young, innocent, and afraid back then. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because I wanted to return the favor you've given to me."

"I haven't given you anything Elsa," Anna argued, startled.

"Yes. You have. You've given me hope. Before you came along, I was convinced that I wasn't human anymore, that the Romans had made me into a monster, succeeding in making me into their own personal heartless killing machine. You helped me realize that maybe there's some humanity left in me after all and that maybe I'm not entirely a monster. You gave me back my humanity, Anna, and for that, I'm forever grateful. There's no price I wouldn't pay as thanks in return for this priceless gift you've given me," Elsa confessed.

"Elsa, you're not a monster! Why would you think that? You've only killed because you had no choice and were forced to. You spared me! A monster wouldn't spare anyone!", Anna argued.

"But that's the thing, Anna. Before you, I never would've spared anyone," Elsa countered.

"So, are you saying that you regret sparing me?", Anna asked, a hint of hurt in her voice.

"No! Of course not. My only regrets are that I had to fight you in the first place and that we didn't meet under different circumstances. If I could, I would scoop you up into my arms and kiss you, but fate had something different in mind for us. We can't be together, not in this time and place," Elsa defended herself sadly.

"I wish I could be with you too, Elsa. And see, you aren't a monster. You've always had your humanity inside. I just helped you find it again," Anna answered warmly.

"Thank you, Anna," Elsa thanked her warmly as well.

Elsa winced in pain as she put her shirt back on.

"Are you alright?", Anna asked concerned.

"I'm fine, Anna. This way you won't have to look at the scars."

"It's ok, Elsa. I don't mind. I mean, I am sad that you're hurt, but it's not like I think illy of your body because of them. You're still beautiful even with them," Anna sighed, blushing.

"Thank you. You're beautiful too, but you probably should put your shirt back on before you catch a cold," Elsa teased.

Anna blushed again as she put her own shirt back.

"Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you as well, Anna."


End file.
